Pioneering hospitality leaders forged new paths to top of LA hotel world
The hospitality landscape in Los Angeles is filled with bold female leaders brave enough to break away from the Mad Men norm to bring their unique leadership styles forward for the benefit of their organizations, the industry and future hospitality professionals. We asked a quartet of these pioneers how they got their start, what has changed and what is next.
Karen Strgacich
National Director, Hotel Sales, Southwest and Southern California for Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (LAT&CB)
Despite falling into the industry by talking her way into a sales job at Hyatt after majoring in—and quickly becoming bored with—interior design, Karen Strgacich found that hospitality was a perfect fit for her talents, creativity and “spunk.”
After consulting an advisor at Cal State Long Beach, her alma mater, she earned her hospitality certificate. It helped that she found some forward-thinking male and female mentors who encouraged her to build a sustainable life despite not seeing many women in leadership roles. Most ambitious women were unmarried and had no time for children or pets because they were married to their careers.
“In the beginning, I was one of the only married women and was urged to hide my pregnancy for fear of not being seen as dedicated to the job,” she said. Female GMs were few and far between, and the ones who had reached those hospitality heights operated like men, but worked twice as hard as those men and still had to go home and take care of their own houses and pay their own mortgages.
“I struggled to fit in at first, because the women who were in the office at that time managed with a focus on control, right down to circulating a ‘Glamour Dos and Don’ts List’ when the decision to allow pants on Fridays was made (to ensure no one would show up in ripped jeans). Women have made leaps and bounds forward since then in showing the courage to manage based on their strengths to the benefit of young women coming in today,” she said.
Strgacich turned to her mother as a mentor. “I was a tomboy with a twin who was very different, and she encouraged us to evolve our own personalities. When there were rough days during the start of my career, she was the one I would lean into for advice,” she said.
“Other men and women I respected may not have even known they were my role models. We often don’t know how much impact we have negatively or positively until later,” she added, noting that she loves working for a team at LAT&CB, including President and CEO Adam Burke, “who is so evolved, believes in balancing people’s lives and making a workplace you just want to come to. These are leaders with the foresight and the intelligence to recognize the importance of leveraging all talent, versus seeing women as somebody to get your coffee. Here, we don’t have to hide our pregnancies anymore.”
Strgacich continued: “There is still a long way to go, as a heavy roof remains in our industry of males swimming in that archaic management style, but some doors are opening. There is still fear that if you speak too much or too loudly, you will be labeled as a troublemaker or an extremist, but hard conversations have to take place.”
Instead of fearing that women will take jobs from men, Strgacich suggested focusing on the possibility that when everyone is empowered to use all their skills, bigger opportunities are created all the way around.
Strgacich’ s auspicious beginnings inspired her to take a chance and give people a shot if they have the passion, even if they lack the experience on paper, thus advancing the careers of many over the years. “When I mentor young women and speak at my alma mater, I go back to the importance of being your authentic self. Be respectful, but don’t be fearful. Do your homework, go in prepared, present yourself with confidence. Competence will get you everywhere in life, but you have to believe in yourself first, even when you have zero experience, as I did in my first interview. I did have spunk.”
She concluded, “I stand on a lot of shoulders, as we all do. Most of those are men. I want to be the shoulders that some of these women stand on.”
More Trailblazing SoCal Female Hospitality Executive Stories
Smart Meetings reached out to some other storied Southern California hospitality executives to learn lessons from their journeys about how we can welcome the next generation of leaders.
Read More: 2024 Smart Women in Meetings Visionary Award Winners
Heather Allison
Vice President of Sales, Premium & Luxury Brands, Southwest Region, Marriott International
How did you get started in the hospitality industry? After graduating from college, I got a job as the receptionist in a hotel sales department as I worked on completing my master’s degree in a completely unrelated field. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with the industry and be given an opportunity to advance my career.
Did you have a role model/mentor and how did they help you find your path? There wasn’t one person who shaped my journey but rather a collection of incredible hospitality professionals who embody everything I strive to be. Richard Bosworth was an interim GM at the first hotel I worked at after the property was sold; we worked together for a very short time, but more than 30 years later, I still remember his approach with the associates in what was a very challenging transition. Ralph Aruzza took a chance by giving me my first leadership position despite relatively limited sales experience and mentored me as I stumbled through my first year. John Harper recognized my potential for luxury and hired me from outside the company into The Ritz-Carlton. Javier Cano, with whom I served eight years at L.A. LIVE is an extraordinary leader and advocated for my career growth within Marriott. I would not be where I am today without him.
How have the opportunities for women in hospitality changed over the years? The fact that the role models and mentors who shaped my career are all male says a lot about where our industry was 20 years ago. There were very few women in high-level positions who could advocate for you or advance your career. I was often the only woman on the hotel’s senior leadership team throughout the early part of my career. Marriott has a commitment to having women equitably represented across all levels of leadership, and the company has proactive measures in place across all disciplines.
How are you giving back at this point in your career? My current role provides me with the opportunity to identify talent and encourage growth and development in our organization. Often, women are overlooked simply because they don’t raise their hands. They may think they don’t meet 100% of the job qualifications, or they don’t believe they would be seriously considered for the role. I strive to give our high-potential leaders the confidence to pursue their goals and grow their careers.
What are the next goals you are tackling? Anyone who knows me knows that I truly love Los Angeles. It is an incredible, world-class city, and putting Los Angeles top-of-mind for meeting and event professionals is a priority. I am finishing up my second year in this role and would like to continue to deepen my knowledge to best serve my stakeholders. On a personal level, my goal is to embrace the gift of travel and spend as much time as possible with friends and family in places I have never been.
Elizabeth Caragay Watts-Russell
CEO, SiteSelectionStrategists
How did you get started in the hospitality industry? My first-ever hotel job was as a guest relations officer (GRO) at InterContinental Manila, the first five-star hotel in the posh district of Makati and the second InterContinental hotel in Asia. The GRO was a very new concept back then, and fresh out of college, I felt like I won a beauty contest. I was euphoric. That was when I caught the hotel bug which has since been ingrained in my DNA.
When I moved to Los Angeles in 1984, I immediately dove back into the industry, growing from admin positions to sales with a number of stellar properties, interrupted by the best 14-year hiatus to raise three boys, then bounced right back into hotel sales. In spite of efforts to switch to other trades, there was no denying the lure of the industry. I eventually switched aisles from hotel sales to a third-party working for a major intermediary entity for six years. Then Covid hit. The world stopped. I did not. Through the bleak financial hemorrhage, I saw the silver lining, and my very own site selection company came to be. Entrepreneurship—which had always intimidated me—had become my track of choice.
Did you have a role model/mentor and how did they help you find your path? No one in particular. Before I got into hotel sales, I’ve always admired hotel salespeople peripherally. The seemingly heady, endless flurry of events, travel, entertainment, always at their finest. I just knew in my core that was my trajectory. There was perhaps one director of sales who made an impression on me more than others. She was akin to my Professor Higgins in the trade.
How have the opportunities for women in hospitality changed over the years? Undoubtedly, the industry has embraced women magnanimously over the years. Where in the distant past, top industry positions were predominantly male-dominated, they are now—and have been for a while—driven by strong, inspiring women.
Read More: Women in Leadership: General Managers
How are you giving back at this point in your career? The ultimate give-back is my passionate dedication to servicing my clients, who place their trust in me to find the best home for their programs—no mean feat in a market that has been a seller space for the longest time.
What are the next goals you are tackling? My goal is to continue to espouse growth in this ever-evolving industry so that Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) rise from the obscurity of a cool acronym buzzword to greater, active implementation across all programs. This presents tremendous growth potential such that every cog in the wheel that we all are should strive to inculcate in the soul of the industry, in all its facets, from human resources to program design.
Anne Marie Doyle
General Manager, Pendry West Hollywood
How did you get started in the industry? I started working at 17, playing the harp in a small hotel in County Wicklow, just outside Dublin, and instead of applying for music, which I thought was what I wanted to do as a career, I refocused and applied for hotel management with marketing. This began my passion for hospitality.
Did you have a role model/mentor and how did they help you find your path? I’m lucky and proud to have a few in my life, but my most influential role model was my father. His character, kindness, hard work and entrepreneurship played a huge role in the dedication and passion I have for my career and those I work alongside.
Read More: Grit, Mentorship and H-Town with Visit Houston’s Melinda Mintz
How have the opportunities for women in hospitality changed over the years? It has come a long way. When I started out, there were none or very few women holding executive leadership positions, apart from perhaps human resources. Now, women play an important role in our industry, as they are making their presence known at colleges and universities by getting the best education possible. The industry is more balanced and approachable with many companies offering reasonable schedules and ensuring a slightly more equitable succession and promotion track for women. We are not there yet, and while the industry is certainly more inclusive and we are certainly going in the right positive direction, we cannot give up on ensuring we stay balanced and welcoming in our approach to succession planning and talent development for all.
How are you giving back at this point in your career? I served most recently on the board of the Boys and Girls Club in Laguna Beach for five years and on the executive board for two of those years. After moving to Los Angeles, I look forward to continuing to mentor several leaders I have worked with over the years, both here and in Ireland, and to finding my new charity to support here in West Hollywood now that I am settled into the Pendry West Hollywood community.
What are the next goals you are tackling? Continuing to ensure that I am developing the talent we have working alongside me at the hotel. Finding new ways to be creative and drive new and existing revenue streams into our new meeting and event spaces, while also enjoying time to get to know my team by hosting my Dining with Doyler sessions bi-monthly. Watching a little football in my downtime is also very fun.
